Obama Joint Chiefs pick's tough task: Cut payPOLITICOIt is a bond with the rank and file that will be sorely tested if the 59-year-old Dunford is confirmed by the Senate to be the nation's top military officer: The Obama administration is counting on Dunford to take the lead in pushing a series of proposals designed to shrink the pay and benefits of troops as the Pentagon wrestles with the need to rein in its personnel costs. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has proposed scaling back current plans for pay increases and benefits, including the subsidies troops receive for housing and subsidies for groceries. He also wants to reduce troops' traditional pensions and put in place a 401(k)-style retirement program.

DoD rejects Tricare reform, does not oppose military retirement changesMilitary Times The Pentagon, for the first time, has offered a detailed response to a slate of proposed military pay and benefits reforms, flatly rejecting the idea of overhauling the military health care system but giving a cautious green light to fundamentally changing military retirement benefits.

Dunford tapped for Joint Chiefs chairman, Selva for viceDefense News President Barack Obama nominated Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford to succeed Gen. Martin Dempsey as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, currently commander of U.S. Transportation Command, to serve as the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gen. Dempsey is retiring after serving four years in the post.

Authorization bill a prelude to US spending showdownDefense NewsThe House Armed Services Committee handed the Pentagon and U.S. defense sector a victory by surgically protecting weapon programs and authorizing extra war funding — but a showdown with the White House looms.

'Ryan-Murray II' might fall to 'cardinals'Defense NewsAny budget deal struck later this year that raises defense and domestic spending caps likely would originate in the House and Senate Appropriations committees, says a key senator.

Congress discussing major changes in military retirementThe StateCongress is considering changing, for the first time in decades, the way service members get retirement pay.
Military retirement now carries an all-or-nothing pension plan that requires a minimum of 20 years of service. The new plan would cut those pensions to 40 percent of pay from 50 percent, and create a matched 401(k)-style plan open to all service members.

Carter urges senators to support stable defense budgetU.S. Department of DefenseSlashed budgets and high worldwide demand for U.S. military forces have created an unbalanced defense program that is taking on increasingly greater risks, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told a Senate panel this morning. "Over the past three fiscal years the Defense Department has taken more than three-quarters of a trillion dollars in cuts to its future-years defense spending," Carter said. The frequently sudden and unpredictable timing and nature of the cuts and continued uncertainty over sequestration have made the stresses greater forcing DoD to make a series of incremental, inefficient decisions.

Obama sends pay, retirement commission recommendations to congressU.S. Department of DefensePresident Barack Obama sent the recommendations of the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission to Congress this week. The president is prepared to support specific proposals for 10 of the Commission's 15 recommendations. The four that require more study are: the proposal for a blended retirement system; reserve component duty statuses; exceptional family member support; and commissary and exchange consolidation.

House panel to reject call for new round of base closingWVEC-TV Hampton Roads residents who suffered through the anguish of the base closure process a decade ago may be spared in the coming year if members of the House of Representatives get their way. The House Armed Services Committee in approving the FY2016 Defense Authorization bill on a vote, 60-2, has rejected a proposal to initiate another Base Realignment and Closure round.

Military appreciation monthMilitary.comNational Military Appreciation Month started as a simple idea: to gather America around its military family to honor, remember, recognize and appreciate those who have served and those now serving and to know the history behind it all. In 1999, legislation passed in the U.S. Senate designating May as National Military Appreciation Month, with the support and sponsorship of Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., and Representative Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., of San Diego and more than 50 veteran service organizations.

Shelf stocking, receiving/storage/holding area and custodial servicesFedBizOpps.govFurnish all supervision, personnel, equipment and supplies necessary to perform shelf stocking, receiving/storage/holding area and custodial operations for the Defense Commissary Agency, Edwards AFB Commissary, located at Edwards AFB, California, in accordance with the Government's Performance Work Statement.

Industry urges Congress to fund FSMASupermarket News Retailers, manufacturers and industry associations have written a joint letter to congressional leaders asking them to increase the FDA's budget in order to fund Food Safety Modernization Act regulations. Costco Wholesale Corp., Wal-Mart Stores, GMA and the Produce Marketing Association joined 16 others to back FDA's request for an additional $109.5 million in funding in the fiscal year 2016 Agriculture/FDA Appropriations legislation.

Buying groceries online gaining acceptance globallyRetail Customer ExperienceA quarter of global consumers surveyed say they are already ordering grocery products online for home delivery, with 55 percent willing to use it in the future, according to the Nielsen Global New Retail Survey. The survey polled 30,000 online respondents in 60 countries to understand how digital technology will shape the retail landscape of the future.

Research: Most consumers unwilling to pay more for non-GMOFoodNavigator-USA.com Consumers' concern about genetically modified food is on the rise, but most shoppers are not yet willing to pay a premium for non-GMO foods — making it difficult for manufacturers to evaluate the business case for going non-GMO, according to research by The NPD Group.

Rise in contaminated food causes consumers to seek localBy Lisa McReynolds Smith Food. It's not just simply something we consume daily to live. Food is a powerful connector among the members of a community, and allows them to be engaged with the source of their nutrition. It's a lifestyle. It's a thriving culture. However, just as one bad apple may pose a threat to the whole bunch, this culture is not immune to certain risks. The latest being large food recalls due to listeria-contaminated products. Amy's Kitchen, Sabra and Blue Bell — just to name a few — have voluntarily recalled some, if not all, of their products since late March.

Wal-Mart looks to UK unit for lessons in online groceryNASDAQ.com via Food Logistics Wal-Mart is watching the experience of its U.K. unit, Asda, to learn more about online sales as it tests online grocery delivery as well as free in-store pickup across five locations in the U.S., Wal-Mart said in its annual report, according to Dow Jones. Aided by the deep pockets of its parent company, Asda offers online grocery delivery across 97 percent of the U.K. and is pushing aggressively into "click-and-collect," where customers order online and pick up in person at no extra charge.

Survey: Shoppers want grocery, not gas, discountsSupermarket NewsU.S. grocery shoppers are no longer pumped up about gas rewards, according to survey results released Tuesday by Loyalty One Consulting. The results of the survey indicate that supermarkets that offer fuel discounts should expand their rewards to include grocery items and other perks, the firm said.

Welcome home to Pittsburgh, Kraft FoodsPittsburgh Post-GazetteThe H.J. Heinz Co. and Kraft Foods Group will be one company soon, with two headquarters: one in Pittsburgh and the other in Chicago. Business pundits and newspaper editorials are busy speculating on whether such a two-headed structure can last.

My entry into the new world of chocolateSupermarket NewsMore than half of U.S. consumers eat chocolate once a week or more. Of these, most are looking for options with mix-ins rather than plain/unflavored varieties.
Chocolate confectionery sales grew 24 percent 2009 to 2014 to reach $21 billion in the U.S., according to Mintel.

Innovative technology drives barrier packaging trendsBy Don Rosato Despite being costly, plastic barrier packaging has established itself in the food and beverage sector because it can prevent oxygenation and thus degradation of contents. It is being used to increase shelf life, protect flavor profiles and maintain food appearance without adding preservatives.

Top food safety officials focused on collaborating over combining agenciesFood Safety News Top officials of U.S. food safety agencies are not wholeheartedly supportive of a single food safety agency, arguing that collaboration is a higher priority. During the Food Safety Summit in Baltimore, leadership from the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Agriculture, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Association of Food and Drug Officials were asked to discuss the idea recently proposed in two congressional bills and the president's budget request.

How stores know what you want when you shopThe Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)Before launching its new Smooth Boost lunge bra for its #ImNoAngel campaign, Lane Bryant needed to know how popular the bra might be and how many to produce. The apparel maker turned to statisticians at Applied Predictive Technologies.

Retailers adjusting their playbooks to get your cashCNBCForty percent off. Buy one, get one free. For more than a year, retailers' play — calling has centered on deluging shoppers with discounts and other money-saving bargains — a tactic that resulted in a sea of sameness from one brand to another.

A radical supply chain idea: Own your trucking operationThe Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)Most manufacturing companies long ago outsourced their truck deliveries in the belief that outside experts could do the job more efficiently.
Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., the largest U.S. maker and retailer of furniture, has resisted that trend. It owns and operates about 800 trucks and delivers the vast bulk of its own products from factories to stores. "We think it is a core competency," says Todd Wanek, chief executive of the family-owned company.

RadioShack is looking to sell customer dataThe Salt Lake Tribune A Delaware bankruptcy judge said that he's willing to approve bid procedures for the sale of RadioShack's intellectual property, including data on millions of customers. But he warned there's no guarantee he will approve the sale itself.

Why catalogs survive in a digital ageThe Business of FashionSome of fashion's best-known retailers, including Neiman Marcus and J.Crew, have built significant businesses on the backs of their catalogues. But in the age of e-commerce, catalogs can seem like a relic from a less-connected time.

5 fresh insights into tobacco regulationCSPWhen the man in charge of regulating tobacco for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration appears in front of a group of tobacco retailers and manufacturers, nobody's expecting him to share any groundbreaking news on issues, like deeming regulations or future policies.

How to win big as cheap gas kicks up inside spendingCSPWith gas retailing below $3 a gallon nationwide, and having dipped earlier this year below $2 in many markets, retailers are drooling over the potential to grab some of that loose change in America's purses and pockets — up to an estimated $140 billion, according to fuel analyst OPIS.

Snacks: Salty snacks 2015CSPMany of the salty-snacks segments saw strong C-store sales growth in 2014, including meat snacks, potato chips, tortilla chips and nuts, according to IRI. Ready-to-eat popcorn, a relatively small segment in the category, posted another year of double-digit gains.

A 'pretty exciting' year for packaged beveragesCSPIn a year when average gasoline margins hit a record 22.3 cent per gallon and convenience-store industry's pretax profit grew an amazing 47.3 percent to reach $10.2 billion, there were a lot of things to cheer about at this year's State of the Industry Summit.

Prison, forfeiture for 7-Eleven franchisee who exploited workersCSP Forfeiting his rights to 10 7-Eleven convenience stores in New York and four in Virginia, Farrukh Baig has been sentenced in federal court to 87 months in prison following his Sept. 22, 2014, guilty plea to committing wire fraud and concealing and harboring illegal aliens employed at 7-Eleven franchise stores located throughout Long Island, New York, and Virginia.

Georgia: MWR's Massingill retiringKings Bay PeriscopeFor those who have enjoyed a game of bowling at Rack-N-Roll Lanes, worked out at the fitness center or relaxed for a weekend at Eagle Hammock RV Park in Kings Bay, Georgia, they've taken advantage of the Kings Bay Morale, Welfare and Recreation's facilities.